Where is Subaru Park located?

At 1 Stadium Drive in Chester, Pennsylvania, on the Delaware River waterfront, about 25 km south of downtown Philadelphia along I-95.

What is the capacity of Subaru Park?

18,500 seats for soccer, expanding to roughly 26,000 for concerts. The compact, steeply raked bowl keeps fans close to the pitch from every section. The stadium's record crowd is 19,487, set on December 5, 2021, for the Eastern Conference Final.

What team plays at Subaru Park?

The Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer, the venue's only tenant since it opened in 2010. The Union won their first Supporters' Shield, for the best regular-season record in MLS, in 2020, and reached the MLS Cup Final in 2022.

When did Subaru Park open?

June 27, 2010, with a match against the Seattle Sounders FC. It opened as PPL Park, was renamed Talen Energy Stadium for the 2016 season, and became Subaru Park in February 2020.

Why has the stadium had three names?

PPL Corporation held the original 11-year, $20 million naming deal. When PPL spun its power-generation business into Talen Energy, the rights moved with it, so the ground became Talen Energy Stadium from 2016. Subaru of America, whose US headquarters is across the river in Camden, New Jersey, took over the rights in February 2020 on undisclosed terms.

Does Subaru Park have a roof?

The stadium is essentially open-air. Partial sideline roofs shelter some seats without blocking the river view, but there is no full canopy. Bring sun protection for day matches and rain gear for wet-weather games.

What surface does Subaru Park use?

Natural grass, on a pitch measuring 110 by 69 meters (120 by 75 yards). The riverside location provides good airflow, which helps maintain pitch quality through the season.

What is the River End?

A 2,000-seat section behind one goal reserved for the Sons of Ben, the Union's supporters' group, with its own dedicated entrance. The group formed in 2007, two years before the club played a match, and its campaign helped bring MLS to Philadelphia.

Subaru Park, Chester: Capacity & Visitor Guide

About Subaru Park

Before the Philadelphia Union had kicked a ball, they already had a fan base. The Sons of Ben, a supporters’ group named after Benjamin Franklin, formed in 2007 and spent two years lobbying Major League Soccer to bring a team to Philadelphia before the league granted an expansion franchise in 2008. That grassroots origin still shapes the place. When the club needed a home, it landed not in Philadelphia proper but 25 kilometers (16 miles) south, on a stretch of Delaware River waterfront in Chester, Pennsylvania.

Subaru Park opened there on June 27, 2010, and the Union have been its only tenant ever since. The bowl holds 18,500 for soccer, which makes it one of the more compact grounds in MLS, and that is the point. Rossetti designed a steeply raked seating bowl that wraps tight around the pitch, so even the back rows sit close to the action. Concerts push capacity to around 26,000.

The setting does the rest. The east stand opens onto the river, so during a match your sightline runs past the pitch to passing cargo ships and the steel span of the Commodore Barry Bridge. No other MLS ground has quite that backdrop. It is, frankly, one of the best views in American soccer.

Subaru Park also made headlines off the pitch. In 2021, Subaru of America and the club announced the stadium had become the first in MLS to reach zero-landfill status, diverting essentially all of its operational waste through recycling, reuse, and waste-to-energy conversion rather than sending it to a landfill. The environmental commitment fits the club’s identity. The Union have positioned themselves as a model for sustainable operations in professional sports.

The club’s academy and training facility sit next door, so the whole operation, youth to first team, runs on one riverbank campus. Chester’s revitalization hopes have been tied to the stadium since groundbreaking, and the surrounding waterfront has seen new development, though slower than initially projected. What has not disappointed is the tailgate culture: the free lots fill with grills, cornhole boards, and Union flags hours before kickoff, building a pre-match atmosphere that rivals anything in the league.

Getting to Subaru Park

Public Transit

SEPTA Regional Rail is the most reliable transit option from Philadelphia. The Wilmington/Newark Line runs frequent service from Center City and connects directly to the stadium shuttle.

→ From Philadelphia (Center City): Take the Wilmington/Newark Line from 30th Street Station or Suburban Station to Chester Transportation Center. About 25 minutes, $5-7.50. A free Union match-day shuttle runs from the station to the stadium.

→ From Wilmington, DE: Same SEPTA Wilmington/Newark Line northbound to Chester TC. About 15 minutes.

The free shuttle runs starting 2 hours before kickoff and continues for 45 minutes after the final whistle. Without the shuttle, it’s about a 20-minute walk from Chester TC to the stadium.

Driving + Parking

GPS address: 1 Stadium Dr, Chester, PA 19013.

→ From Philadelphia (25 km): I-95 South to Exit 6 (Morton Avenue / Route 320). Follow signs to the stadium. About 25 minutes without traffic.

→ From Wilmington, DE (25 km): I-95 North to Exit 6 (Morton Avenue). About 25 minutes.

→ From New Jersey (via Commodore Barry Bridge): US-322 West across the bridge. The stadium is immediately visible. About 5 minutes from the bridge toll.

Free parking is available in stadium lots for most matches. Lot A is closest to the gates. Tailgating is permitted in designated areas starting 3 hours before kickoff, and it is a major part of the Union match-day culture.

Rideshare

Uber and Lyft serve the Chester area. Drop-off at 1 Stadium Drive. A ride from Center City Philadelphia costs about $25-40; from Philadelphia International Airport about $15-25. Post-match surge is significant, so plan for the free shuttle back to Chester TC instead.

From the Airport

→ Philadelphia International Airport (PHL): 13 km northeast, about 15 minutes by car. Take I-95 South to Exit 6. Uber/Lyft fare about $15-25. PHL is one of the closest major airports to any MLS stadium.

Construction & Design

Chester was not the obvious choice. When MLS awarded Philadelphia its franchise, competing sites in downtown Philadelphia and at the Navy Yard were on the table, but the riverfront in Chester offered cheap land, a direct line to I-95, and a SEPTA rail connection that could move fans from Center City in about 25 minutes. The city and county wanted the development badly enough to help pay for it. Ground broke on December 1, 2008.

The build ran roughly $120 million, about $177 million in 2025 dollars. Rossetti served as architect, drawing on the firm’s run of purpose-built soccer venues, with Pennoni Associates as structural engineer and T.N. Ward Company as general contractor. ICON Venue Group managed the project. Public money carried a large share: $30 million from Delaware County, funded through revenue tied to the nearby Harrah’s Chester racetrack and casino, plus $47 million from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with private investment covering the rest. Delaware County owns both the land and the stadium. The Union hold the naming rights and operate the venue under a long-term lease.

The design leans into its site rather than hiding from it. The natural grass pitch measures 110 by 69 meters (120 by 75 yards). Partial roofs cover the sideline stands, shielding some fans from sun and rain without walling off the water view, and the east side stays open to the river on purpose. Behind one goal sits the River End, a 2,000-seat section built for the Sons of Ben with its own dedicated entrance, a rare piece of architecture designed around a supporters’ group rather than a luxury tier. For a stadium built on public land with public money, it has aged into something the region points to rather than argues about.

The name changed twice before it settled. The stadium opened as PPL Park under an 11-year, $20 million deal with PPL Corporation. When PPL spun its power-generation arm into a separate company called Talen Energy, the naming rights went with it, and the ground became Talen Energy Stadium from the 2016 season. Then, on February 18, 2020, Subaru of America, whose US headquarters sits across the river in Camden, New Jersey, took the rights on undisclosed terms, and the venue became Subaru Park.

History of Subaru Park

The first match set the tone. On June 27, 2010, in front of a sold-out crowd, the Union beat the Seattle Sounders 3-1 to christen the new ground, Sébastien Le Toux scoring the first goal in the building from the penalty spot. The season’s 12,000 ticket packages had all sold before the gates ever opened. The Union had willed a stadium into existence, and the fans showed up.

Key moments in the stadium’s history:

June 27, 2010: Inaugural match, Philadelphia Union 3-1 Seattle Sounders FC.
October 6, 2010: Alex Morgan, 21 at the time, scores her first USWNT international goal here, a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw with China, the beginning of one of the most storied careers in women’s soccer.
2016: Renamed Talen Energy Stadium after PPL spun off its generation business.
February 2020: Renamed Subaru Park.
2020: The Union win the Supporters’ Shield, the best regular-season record in MLS, for the club’s first major trophy.
December 5, 2021: A stadium-record crowd of 19,487 packs in for the Eastern Conference Final.
2022: The Union reach their first MLS Cup Final, drawing 3-3 with LAFC before losing the penalty shootout in Los Angeles.

Beyond the Union, the ground has become a regular stop for the US national teams, hosting USMNT and USWNT fixtures, Concacaf competition, and US Open Cup matches. College soccer has claimed it too: the venue staged the NCAA College Cup finals in 2013 and 2017, and it hosted the Collegiate Rugby Championship every year from 2011 through 2019. The Union academy, one of the most productive in MLS, trains on the adjacent fields and has developed players like Brenden Aaronson and Mark McKenzie who moved on to Europe and the national team. That academy has become a defining feature of the club, its financial model, and its reputation across the league as a development-first organization. Youth to first team, it all happens on the same Chester riverbank.

Sources & Further Reading

Stadium reference: en.wikipedia.org. Construction figures, capacity, naming history, ownership, and records for Subaru Park.
Official club and venue site: philadelphiaunion.com. Capacity, address, surface, and the stadium’s zero-landfill sustainability program.
Inaugural match report: espn.com. Independent record of the June 27, 2010 opener, Philadelphia 3-1 Seattle.
Alex Morgan’s first USWNT goal: ussoccer.com. US Soccer’s account of Morgan’s October 2010 goal at the stadium.

Quick Facts

Everything you need at a glance.

Stadium specs

Capacity: 18,500
Opened: 2010
Cost: $120 million (~$177 million (2025) today)
Roof: Open (partial sideline roofs)
Surface: Natural Grass
Tenants: Philadelphia Union (MLS)

Construction & location

Groundbreaking: December 1, 2008
Engineering: Pennoni Associates
General contractor: T.N. Ward Company
Address: 1 Stadium Drive, Chester, PA 19013, USA
GPS: 39.8328°N, 75.3785°W

Nearby Attractions

Commodore Barry Bridge

Adjacent

Cantilever bridge over the Delaware River, its 501 m (1,644 ft) main span the longest of any cantilever bridge in the US and fourth-longest in the world.

John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge

15 km

The first urban national wildlife refuge in the US, with tidal wetlands and over 300 bird species.

Brandywine River Museum of Art

22 km

Museum showcasing the Wyeth family's art collection in a converted 19th-century gristmill.

Linvilla Orchards

14 km

300-acre family farm with seasonal festivals, fishing, and pick-your-own fruit since 1914.

Plan your visit

Things to do in Chester

Tours, tickets, and experiences near the stadium

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Photo Gallery

Fun Facts

Subaru Park became the first stadium in Major League Soccer to reach zero-landfill status, diverting essentially all of its operational waste through recycling, reuse, and waste-to-energy conversion instead of sending it to a landfill.

Alex Morgan, then 21 years old, scored her first international goal for the USWNT here on October 6, 2010, a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw with China that launched one of the most decorated careers in women's soccer.

The east stand opens onto the Delaware River, so during a match your sightline runs past the pitch to passing cargo ships and the steel span of the Commodore Barry Bridge.

Stadium Location

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Subaru Park located?: At 1 Stadium Drive in Chester, Pennsylvania, on the Delaware River waterfront, about 25 km south of downtown Philadelphia along I-95.
What is the capacity of Subaru Park?: 18,500 seats for soccer, expanding to roughly 26,000 for concerts. The compact, steeply raked bowl keeps fans close to the pitch from every section. The stadium's record crowd is 19,487, set on December 5, 2021, for the Eastern Conference Final.
What team plays at Subaru Park?: The Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer, the venue's only tenant since it opened in 2010. The Union won their first Supporters' Shield, for the best regular-season record in MLS, in 2020, and reached the MLS Cup Final in 2022.
How do I get to Subaru Park by transit?: Take SEPTA Regional Rail's Wilmington/Newark Line to Chester Transportation Center. A free Union match-day shuttle runs from the station to the stadium, a 5-minute ride. Trains from 30th Street Station take about 25 minutes.
Is there parking at Subaru Park?: Yes. Free parking is available in the stadium lots for most matches. Lot A is closest to the gates. Tailgating is permitted in designated areas starting 3 hours before kickoff.
When did Subaru Park open?: June 27, 2010, with a match against the Seattle Sounders FC. It opened as PPL Park, was renamed Talen Energy Stadium for the 2016 season, and became Subaru Park in February 2020.
Why has the stadium had three names?: PPL Corporation held the original 11-year, $20 million naming deal. When PPL spun its power-generation business into Talen Energy, the rights moved with it, so the ground became Talen Energy Stadium from 2016. Subaru of America, whose US headquarters is across the river in Camden, New Jersey, took over the rights in February 2020 on undisclosed terms.
Does Subaru Park have a roof?: The stadium is essentially open-air. Partial sideline roofs shelter some seats without blocking the river view, but there is no full canopy. Bring sun protection for day matches and rain gear for wet-weather games.
What surface does Subaru Park use?: Natural grass, on a pitch measuring 110 by 69 meters (120 by 75 yards). The riverside location provides good airflow, which helps maintain pitch quality through the season.
What is the River End?: A 2,000-seat section behind one goal reserved for the Sons of Ben, the Union's supporters' group, with its own dedicated entrance. The group formed in 2007, two years before the club played a match, and its campaign helped bring MLS to Philadelphia.

Last updated: 2026-07-10

Subaru Park